Charter fishing boats now ghosts in Mayport past

Saturday

MAYPORT - The death of a former recreational charter fishing boat captain this month reminded many people that the charter business is quickly fading from the historic fishing area.

But some are working to add a new twist to the charter boat industry at Mayport - eco-friendly excursions on which people seek out interesting aspects of the environment instead of fish.

Tommy "Mayport Fats" Jameson died of melanoma Oct. 14 at 74. With him went a character from the charter boat fishing mecca that Mayport was when he was a captain for about two decades.

Decades-old Jameson family photos show him at the docks with customers beaming with their hauls of fish caught from Jameson's vessel, the Lisa Ann. It was one of about dozen that used to moor at the waterfront fishing hub.

Those days are gone, with only a few "party boat" charter vessels still running out of Mayport. The remaining boats take dozens of anglers offshore each time.

Gone is the vast fleet of charter boats that could be hired each day for a select few tourists or sportsmen.

"I think it's a disgrace" there aren't more charters at Mayport, said Judy Jameson, Mayport Fats' former wife, who remembered fondly the bustling area that once prominently featured recreational charter fishing.

"There were a lot of people that enjoyed fishing that didn't have access to their own vessel," Jameson said. "Now, everybody that wants to go [charter] fishing goes to St. Augustine."

Rusty Russell was a charter boat captain out of Mayport from the 1950s to the 1970s. He knew Jameson well. Russell acknowledged that there doesn't seem to be any room for charter boats any more in Mayport.

"I know that when I fished back then, I'd say there were probably about 10 full-time charter boat captains and another five part-time," Russell said. "We stayed pretty busy all summer long. By that, I mean four or five times a week.

"I think more people have their own boats now. Back then, in those times, there weren't many boats that went out on the ocean," Russell said.

Jimmy Gavin was a charter boat captain about the same time. He still lives in Mayport. Gavin said it seems to be a bygone era.

During recent worries over a cruise ship terminal coming to Mayport, some officials with the Mayport Waterfront Partnership argued that commercial fishing boats such as shrimpers and other seafood vessels should be provided space along the waterfront. There weren't any such concerns for charter boats.

"It was such a popular thing for so many years," Gavin said. "In the season, gosh, the people on that dock in the afternoon, it was unreal and you couldn't move. Now you go down there and there are just the party boats and it's just a very small [number] of people coming down there to see what they caught."

A dock full of onlookers and outdoor aficionados would be an ideal return to the glory days of Mayport, Waterfront Partnership Chairman Gary Crumley said.

But Crumley admitted increased regulation on fishing and the changing dynamic of Mayport may make it impossible to get charter fishing back to its former stature. But that doesn't mean the elimination of a charter boat presence.

Crumley said he's investigating eco-friendly charter boat operations in other areas of the state that take tourists and other visitors on excursions to experience the environment instead of catching fish. He sees that as the future of charter boats in Mayport.

"An opportunity to bring a whole bunch of money into [Mayport] is on the horizon through eco-tourism," Crumley said Wednesday.

There's more research to do, but Crumley said eco-charters at a few locations in Florida's Panhandle already seem to be taking off. Mayport fits the bill for just such an operation, he said.

"We're finding a way to adapt to the changes. I see that as a potential opportunity. I believe eco-tourism is where the charter industry is going to be moving toward. To be able to find that kind of opportunity at Mayport would be a tremendous opportunity. I'm working on that right now," Crumley said,

The stepdaughter of Tommy Jameson, Steffani Gilligan, said memories of the glory years remain fresh, no matter how many decades pass. It's a vivid image to shoot for, she said.

"When I'm at Mayport, I see a casino boat and shrimp boats. Everything is different in that area now," Gilligan said. "When I was a child, my brother and I ran up and down the docks and laid on our tummies. ... Monty's Marina was there and there were charter boats lined up.

"You don't see any of that anymore. It just looks completely different," she said.

Now Safe Harbor Seafood restaurant and wholesaler occupies the former site of Monty's.

Crumley said he's appealing to local residents and waterfront enthusiasts not to give up. There could soon be a day when charter boats are lined up in Mayport again.

"If you limit the access to the waterfront, you limit what people can do. They haven't lost their character, they've only lost their habitat. That's something we're working on restoring," Crumley said.

"If those who have waterfront access can come to an agreement, you will see a resurgence to the charter industry," Crumley said. "That is the horizon that we are pursuing at this time. In the next five or 10 years, eco-tourism charters will be part of the puzzle."

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313.

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